Russian Encounters: A Memoir

'You must be a spy!' the Russian exclaimed. I laughed and raised my glass.True stories filled with humor, cultural mistakes and experiences; how in the early days of the Russian Federation, one man built a personal diplomacy with people who had never before even met an American—or spoke English. Familiarity brings understanding--and trust--but not everything goes smoothly.Glenn was sent to Moscow by NASA to ensure that an abandoned Russian Tu-144 supersonic transport aircraft was resurrected and that data was collected on its operation--but a collaboration like this had never been done before. He was often the lone American at Zhukovsky Air Base and had to get the data out of Moscow at a time when Americans risked arrest for doing that, even though the Russians had agreed to it.Learn how Glenn stumbled toward success, and in the process broke culture and language barriers to forge a unique collaboration while allowing two former adversaries to catch glimpses of each other's worlds.Flying“We jumped into the air and shot straight up! We pulled about 4 g … and my G-suit started to inflate — and continued to inflate. It didn’t seem normal to me… I was being squeezed like a full body blood pressure cuff — and it was getting worse.”Glenn’s Russian adventure was one of many during his 42-year NASA career, which included flying, designing, and journeys to other parts of the world. He met politicians, engineers, and regular people, with whom he often has unexpected conversations. What do you say when a waitress in England traps you into talking politics with her—or to the New Zealand Deputy Minister of Finance whom you meet unexpectedly? What should you say when Russian women at lunch ask you about sexual harassment?Order now and enjoy an intriguing and often humorous memoir full of vignettes about an American engineer abroad. Read more